Sleek Jacket With Solar Panels

It may be solar powered bikini season, but Italy's ZEGNA has unveiled a ZegnaSport Solar Jacket that has built-in solar cells that can charge your iPod or cell phone.

The jacket was created with the help of Germany's Interactive Wear, who also made the io-Jacket with a built in MP3, mobile-phone and GPS. According to Unwired View, the power cells in the jacket fit in its neopren collar with the electricity transferred via conducting textile cables to a small Li-Ion storage battery or directly to your phone and mp3 player. The storage battery takes eight hours to load and will charge your phone in about four hours.

It will apparently be part of the company's summer 2008 collection and in my opinion is the first "gadgety" jacket I've ever seen that looks nice enough to wear. Unlike some of the wired MP3 player jackets that are popular on ski slopes but serve little function other than extra pockets and iPod controller, this one will keep you powered and warm...and it doesn't look like it was made for a robot.